THE CARTOONA (stereo)typical Scotsman named Hamish (note the kilt, Tam o'Shanter, and beard) arrives home after taking part in a demonstration in favour of Scottish independence only to find that his wife Jean has left him a note: "I canna wait till 2014 so I've run off with the plumber now." Note the PS on the floor: "Your dinner is in the cat", i.e., the cat has eaten it!

EXPLANATIONThe cartoonist plays on the meaning of the word 'independence'—independence for the country, but also for the wife.

GRAMMAR'I canna' is Scottish dialect for 'I can't'.

VOCABULARYA person from Scotland is a Scot. If he's a man, you can refer to him as a Scotsman (the word Scotswoman exists but is far less common). Scottish is an adjective, so you can't say 'he's a Scottish', but you could say 'he's a Scottish footballer', etc. And Scotch is whisky from Scotland, and should not be used as an alternative to Scottish (except in the expression Scotch egg).

THE CARTOONA (stereo)typical Scotsman named Hamish (note the kilt, Tam o'Shanter, and beard) arrives home after taking part in a demonstration in favour of Scottish independence only to find that his wife Jean has left him a note: "I canna wait till 2014 so I've run off with the plumber now." Note the PS on the floor: "Your dinner is in the cat", i.e., the cat has eaten it!

EXPLANATIONThe cartoonist plays on the meaning of the word 'independence'—independence for the country, but also for the wife.

GRAMMAR'I canna' is Scottish dialect for 'I can't'.

VOCABULARYA person from Scotland is a Scot. If he's a man, you can refer to him as a Scotsman (the word Scotswoman exists but is far less common). Scottish is an adjective, so you can't say 'he's a Scottish', but you could say 'he's a Scottish footballer', etc. And Scotch is whisky from Scotland, and should not be used as an alternative to Scottish (except in the expression Scotch egg).